Looking to boost marketing or sales? And are you looking at your schedule and wondering how you will ever find the time to do so? Why not take a note from other busy small business owners and consider outsourcing those essential tasks to freelancers? In addition to keeping you from rationing out more of your valuable time, freelancers and consultants can offer key expertise and skills in the areas where you most need help.
Interested in learning more? Read on to find out whether hiring contract workers could benefit your small business.
Figuring Out Your Business’s Freelance Needs
When you think of freelancers, you may immediately think of content writers and other creative professionals. It is true that freelance content writers can provide a boost to small businesses, but there are other ways to use contract employees to enhance operations for your enterprise.
For instance, if you really are trying to improve your marketing and sales strategies, you could always start by hiring a marketing consultant or firm. Because marketing can be so tricky to figure out, especially if you are new to business, working with an individual or team that has experience creating and implementing successful marketing plans can be a very wise move. Of course, if you would rather tackle marketing on your own, you could also think about hiring a virtual assistant to help out with administrative tasks to buy time.
Something to consider here as well is that your freelancer can help you enhance your visual image, too. A graphic designer, for example, can create a brand and then use a mockup platform to showcase your new artwork before you commit to the expense of a physical product. This can help you better refine your marketing strategy and come up with innovative products to boost your bottom line.
Finding Top Freelance Talent for Your Business
So maybe you are already interested in adding freelance workers to your business, but you’re not sure where to look for candidates? If this is the case, know that online job boards are built to connect small business owners like yourself with some of the most qualified and experienced contractors in the market.
You can find freelancers on Upwork for help with all sorts of sales and marketing projects, or you can look for contract employees who can help out with more routine tasks. While job sites make it really simple to find, interview, and hire freelance help, another option is to check in with your business networks to find candidates.
Either way, make sure you create clear job descriptions and ask the right questions, so that you can find the most reliable and the most experienced freelancers for your business projects.
Building Trust With Your Freelance & Remote Help
One of the reasons that small business owners may shy away from hiring freelance help is that they fear losing control. These worries can be worsened by anxieties over remote work, but Thrive Global notes there are countless tools and resources that can give you peace of mind when working with remote and freelance help. You can even outsource tasks like setting up your LLC by using services dedicated to this sort of work.
If you are worried about keeping everyone on the same page in terms of specific projects, Capterra points out that you could use project management tools to help keep you, your regular employees and any freelancers connected. In fact, many freelancers may already use these sorts of apps and tools, so you may want to ask about this in your interviews. More concerned about the lack of facetime with remote contractors? Video conferencing may help. It’s a chance to connect face-to-face from anywhere, anytime.
Managing & Paying Your Freelance & Contract Workers
So now you have tools to help you find, hire and even work with your contract employees, but how can hiring these folks impact your payroll? To fully understand the bigger picture, you need to understand the differences between freelancers and independent contractors. Freelancers are typically used for short-term projects, and they operate as self-employed individuals, whereas contractors tend to work for longer periods of time and can be paid via agencies.
As part of these differences, you also need to ensure that the level of authority and control you are trying to exert over outside help doesn’t qualify them as employees. Dictating schedules or providing detailed work instructions could change their legal status.
No matter what sort of help you need for your small business, freelancers and consultants may be a good solution. From marketing to sales to everything between, outsourcing your labor is a smart way to save time and resources and to help your business thrive. Look for qualified prospects, and make arrangements that will keep you both happy and promote a healthy bottom line.
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